My movie choice for this blog prompt might be seen as a tad bit childish and simple (because it is), but it has remained one of my favorite movies throughout my life and follows Hollywood’s three-act-structure of film perfectly. I have chosen to discuss the classic Disney movie, Cinderella (everyone has to admit that the little kid inside of them still loves this “happily ever after” film too).
Act 1: Cinderella starts out like any other movie by introducing the characters, providing the viewer with an idea (and because it is Disney and the characters are simple, an exact portrait) of each of the main characters’ personalities. We see that the main character, Cinderella, is a sweet and kind-hearted young woman, friends with all the little woodland creatures, trapped in her household being treated as a slave by her wicked stepmother and evil stepsisters. The evil stepsisters are ugly and spoiled, given their every wish and demand by their stepmother. The stepmother is wicked and cruel, manipulating Cinderella’s father into marriage for his money and using Cinderella as her own personal servant. The first main event that occurs in the act is when the Prince invites all the young women in the land to his ball so he might find a wife. Cinderella naturally should be invited, but instead is stepped on as usual by her stepsisters and stepmom, forcing her to spend all her time helping them prepare for the ball and leaving Cinderella dirty and with absolutely nothing to wear but rags (certainly not proper attire for a royal ball). Cinderella starts to cry for it seems she will never escape this hell in which she lives and then magically her fairy godmother appears. The fairy godmother scene is the Plot Point ending act one. This is a magical event that has just occurred; the fairy godmother turns Cinderella’s rags into a beautiful ball gown with glass slippers, her to friends that are rats (Gus-Gus and Jaq) into two beautiful white horses, a pumpkin into a carriage, and so on. This is a major plot point because now Cinderella has been presented with the opportunity to break out of her prison and attend the ball. This is risky because her stepsisters and stepmother could recognize her (and she was forbidden to attend until she finished all her chores) and it is not really her world anymore. The only catch is that she must be home before the clock strikes twelve for the spell ends at midnight. This last little catch is key to this mini climax (plot point).
Act 2: The second act is the longest part of the film (although it might not look like it if analyzing the length of my description of act one above). Act two begins when Cinderella’s carriage arrives at the castle for the royal ball. She must be brave enough to enter, and when she does everyone is so captivated by her beauty and presence that the entire ball seems to stand still as the entire court takes notice, including the Prince. Cinderella is approached by the Prince, making her the target for green eyes of jealousy by every other girl in attendance, and she spends the entire night at his side, dancing and talking. Cinderella, infatuated with the Prince, and he with her, looses track of the time and is snapped back into reality when she hears the first strike of the clock marking midnight. Cinderella embarrassed to reveal her true identity in rags as a servant rushes out of the ballroom, leaving the Prince with no explanation except for a frantic, “I’m sorry, I have to go!” The Grandfather clock clanging out the twelve rings of midnight is the mini-climax, or plot point, of the second act. Here there is a lot of action in that Cinderella is frantically running away, accidently leaving a glass slipper behind in the process, as her dress turns back into rags, while the Prince chases after her. The Prince is too late though and all he finds is the sole glass slipper, picking it up and vowing to find the owner of the slipper and marry her.
Act 3: The final act of the film is the shortest act and it contains the resolution. It consists of the Prince going door to door all throughout the land, having women try on the glass slipper (the only thing he has left of his dream girl), searching for the shoe’s (and his) perfect match (or fit). When the Prince arrives at Cinderella’s house the evil stepsisters attempt to force their feet into the shoe and laugh at an embarrassed Cinderella as she asks if she might be given a chance to try on the glass slipper. This is the true climax of the film because when Cinderella is trying on the slipper, although we know it will fit, it is unknown of whether or not the Prince will accept her and her true social standing. Of course the shoe is a perfect fit and the Prince asks Cinderella to marry him, despite the rags she wears. Their wedding is the “Happily Ever After” ending (resolution of the third act and film as a whole) that most films that use Hollywood’s three-act structure end with.
No comments:
Post a Comment